Oct 12, 2024 | Pastor Jim's Blog
Today’s Word from Pastor Jim…
Jesus said, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28
A week ago today, I was walking the streets of Istanbul, Turkey. It was a Saturday morning in a city that rarely sleeps. The streets were mostly empty. Felicia and I had traveled through Greece and Turkey with a group of 35 Trinity Lutheran Church pilgrims on a journey in the footsteps of the Apostle Paul. Some 30 years ago at the catacombs of Rome, a TLC group was accompanied by a small but jovial Catholic Priest who acted as our guide. He said, “I love sharing these sites with rich people.” We were taken aback. He then said, “How do I know that you are rich people? Cause poor people don’t take tours like this.” He was correct of course, he held up a mirror and, in our reflection, we could see our privileged position in the world. A world that does not look like Whidbey Island, a world that God so loved that he gave his only begotten son.
I was walking the streets of Istanbul on a Saturday morning, one of our pilgrims was looking for a souvenir Starbucks mug. It was then that I saw him coming my way. He was old, or at least weathered beyond his years. He was hunched over, heavily laden by life and the baskets that he balanced on achy shoulders. He would hawk his bread as he moved along, stopping every third of a block to catch his breath and rest his weary shoulders. I know nothing of his story, he did not speak English. I might have imagined that he was tired of work, that he would have liked to have stayed in bed like the rest of the city, that this labor was a burden. But I know no such thing. I simply saw this old Muslim man and thought of Jesus.
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
Though we are privileged, rich, and in many ways blessed, we are still bent over and disfigured from the burdens that are uniquely ours and striking similar to those carried by our sisters and brothers of every land, race, and religion. We come each week to the sanctuary of TLC. We come to a safe place, to rest, to pray, to reflect on our place in God’s creation.
When you come to church tomorrow, I hope that you will hold the image of this old man in Istanbul in your heart. You see that old man will be sitting next to you. He may be disguised as an elderly woman dressed in fine apparel. He may be a teenager worried about climate change. He may have driven an expensive car to church consumed by an ominous medical diagnosis. The old man will be there, you can count on that. You may never know the full extent of his story, but he shares our humanity. He deserves our love and respect. He is a child of God, broken, beautiful, frail, insecure, putting one foot in front of the other, longing for rest, hungry for hope.
One privileged beggar, telling another where to find bread, I am your,
Pastor Jim
If you would like to email Pastor Jim direct please send a note to: [email protected]
Oct 4, 2024 | Pastor Jim's Blog
Today’s Word from Deacon Amy…
“Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.” Matthew 13:8
As I was walking through the courtyard on Wednesday afternoon, getting everything set up for youth group that evening, I spotted a lovely, delicate flower sprouting from a crack between the concrete sections. Some tenacious little seed had found the tiniest bit of soil in which to take root.
Often times in ministry, especially when working with children and youth, we say that we’re “sowing seeds.” With Matthew 13 in mind, our hope is that if we keep broadcasting seeds, some of them will take root and grow strong and healthy.
We don’t see the same number of youth or families participating in worship or Sunday School as there have been in past generations. The church, as a whole, has seen a decline in attendance over several decades now.
It’s easy to get discouraged. But we need to remember what Jesus told us about sowing seeds. Not all of them will grow… but some will.
My first years here, I would take 10-12 middle school kids to camp in Idaho. This summer, I took 6. It was a smaller group, but we had a great time. I often wonder, though, if these trips to camp do anything to build the faith of these kids, or if it’s just a fun experience for them?
A couple of weeks after our return this year, I received this text message from one of the students: “Thanks for showing me Luke 14:11. I like it a lot.”
While at camp, we were talking about how we can help to change the world, bringing it back to what God had intended. The theme for our second day at camp was Inclusion. This was one of our key verses for the day.
John 14:11 says, “For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
We discussed the idea that by intentionally including those who are often rejected, we can bring about the change that God longs for. By putting others before ourselves, we are paving the way for change.
Honestly, I didn’t know if this lesson sunk in at all while we were at camp. To hear from this student, weeks later, that they were still ruminating on that verse, and that our conversation had an impact on their life, was a wonderful reminder for me. A reminder that sometimes the seeds that we cast do take root.
Ministry is like that. We sow seeds. Some land in the rocks and don’t grow. Some land on the path and get quickly devoured by birds. But some seeds land in just the right spot and take root. Sometimes a little kernel of Biblical wisdom sinks in.
I recently sat with another student who was frustrated with the very vocal hypocrisy of some people who call themselves Christians. This student wanted to know why people would speak out against others, spouting judgment and exclusion, when Jesus clearly showed a love for everyone. Jesus taught us to include all people, to care for all people, and to love all people. Why, then, are some who claim to follow Christ so quick to spew negative messages about anyone? What about the love of Jesus?
Again, these were things that had been discussed in Confirmation classes several years ago. Yet, the messages stuck. This student heard the word of Jesus and it took root and sprouted in her heart.
We may not have the same numbers of people coming to church. Our classrooms and faith formation programs may not be as full or robust as they once were, but the seeds that we are sowing are still taking root.
I urge you to continue to sow seeds of faith in your own lives. All Christians are called to proclaim the Gospel message, the Good News of Christ. Sow the seeds, spread the love of Christ, share the message in all that you say and do.
With hope and love,
Deacon Amy
Sep 21, 2024 | Pastor Jim's Blog
Today’s Word from Pastor Jim…
We live in a confusing world. Advances in technology and the availability of information have made life all the more complex. To make matters worse, we live in a fallen world. We live in a world where sometimes we only have bad choices.
Together at TLC we search for meaning and truth as we try to faithfully follow Jesus Christ. Debate rages. Debate is a good and positive thing. No one person has the corner on truth. No one party, organization, or denomination has the corner on truth.
What do we know for sure? Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. How we faithfully follow Jesus is not so clear. Some of our members are seeking to love their neighbors at home and their neighbors in Iraq by serving in the military. Some of our members are seeking to love their neighbors at home and their neighbors in Iraq by protesting war in Iraq. What would Jesus do? I haven’t a clue, and I spend a fair amount of time thinking and praying about it. Life in a fallen world is rarely black and white. We are surrounded by shades of gray.
What is God’s will? That all might experience Abundant Life. How do we get there? I do not know.
What is God’s will? That we love our neighbor as we love ourselves. How do we love our neighbor? How do we love the twelve year old girl impregnated by her uncle? How do we love our 93 year old father who is on life support? How do we give advice to the young mother whose husband has been unfaithful? How do we love both the Israelis and the Palestinians?
Let me make this very clear. I do not know the answers to these questions. I do not know what Jesus would do faced with the choice of an unimpeded holocaust, or the devastation of World War II.
Let us be humble. Let us be respectful. Let us be honest. No one has the corner on truth. No party, no church, no denomination, no one this side of heaven knows the heart of God.
Let’s search together. In love,
Pastor Jim
If you would like to email Pastor Jim direct please send a note to: [email protected]
Sep 14, 2024 | Pastor Jim's Blog
Today’s Word from Pastor Jim…
“Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth.
Serve the Lord with gladness;
come into God’s presence with singing.” Psalm 100
What is up with your church? Does your church really encourage folks to dress in Hawaiian garb for a luau Sunday? Does your church encourage people to wear NFL jerseys and celebrate college spirit Sweatshirt Sundays? Has all decorum been set aside? What do cinnamon rolls, chocolate Sunday and tee shirt Sundays have to do with following Jesus? Are there no limits? What is next? A country western worship service? What kind of church do you belong to?
Trinity Lutheran Church is a gathering of people, real people who enjoy food, fellowship, football, playfulness, classical music, folk music, rock and roll and on occasion country western music. Trinity Lutheran Church is a gathering of real people, real people with broken homes and broken hearts, we have our individual life stories and experiences. Our beliefs are not uniform, they are in fact quite diverse. Real people gather here, they come in faith and doubt, with fears, phobias and scars. Real people, that is what we are. Real people, just like the ones Jesus met and ministered to. Real people who are longing for community, for a place to belong, a sanctuary, a place of grace where words of hope and encouragement are spoken. A place to encounter God’s Spirit.
Gospel means “good news.” The followers of Jesus are called to be people of good news. Jesus loved a party; wedding parties, parties for prodigal children, breaking bread with known sinners. When people come in the doors of Trinity Lutheran Church it should resemble a party house not a funeral home. Parties are loud and filled with laughter as friends old and new come together to break bread and drink wine. If you have ever been to a family or high school reunion, you know the joy of reuniting with people that have shared important chapters of life. Every Sunday at TLC is a family reunion. We should expect joyful noise! After all, we have much to celebrate. Blessed to be a blessing, our worship is a joyful celebration of God’s love. It is only fitting that we would gather to give thanks.
What kind of church do you belong to? I belong to a church where real people gather, where the communion table is open to all, where the broken are consoled and pretense has no place. There is no room for bragging, judging or excluding. One beggar, telling another beggar where to find bread, that is TLC.
What kind of church do you belong to? A church that cares about our community, the environment and the world. A church that supports dozens of local non-profits, international relief organizations, the poor and oppressed of the world. I belong to a church that gives away $10,000 every week for the common good of humanity.
That is the church I belong to and I hope that you will join us; the merry mischief makers of Whidbey Island, following Jesus and doing good. And when you come, you can expect a warm welcome and considerable noise. It is after all, a family reunion, a party where Jesus is the host.
“Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth.
Serve the Lord with gladness;
come into God’s presence with singing.”
One day closer,
Pastor Jim
If you would like to email Pastor Jim direct please send a note to: [email protected]
Sep 7, 2024 | Pastor Jim's Blog
Today’s Word from Pastor Jim…
Life is hard for everyone, be kind to those you meet this day!
Viktor Frankl had been married for nine months when his family was taken on a Nazi prisoner train to Theresienstadt. He would spend the next three years at in four concentration camps including Theresienstadt and Auschwitz. His wife Tilly, his father Gabriel, his mother Elsa, and his brother Walter all died in hellish captivity.
Viktor Frankl wrote Man’s Search for Meaning over a nine-day period. The book was released in German in 1946. The English translation of Man’s Search for Meaning was published in 1959 and became an international bestseller. Millions of copies were sold in dozens of languages. In a 1991 survey conducted for the Library of Congress and the Book of the Month Club, Man’s Search for Meaning was named one of the ten most influential books in the US.
On this Saturday in September, I would encourage you to read this book as I share with you a few quotes from Man’s Search for Meaning.
“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”
“For the first time in my life I saw the truth as it is set into song by so many poets, proclaimed as the final wisdom by so many thinkers. The truth – that Love is the ultimate and highest goal to which man can aspire. Then I grasped the meaning of the greatest secret that human poetry and human thought and belief have to impart: The salvation of man is through love and in love.”
“The one thing you can’t take away from me is the way I choose to respond to what you do to me. The last of one’s freedoms is to choose one’s attitude in any given circumstance.”
“Happiness cannot be pursued; it must ensue.”
“Life is never made unbearable by circumstances, but only by lack of meaning and purpose.”
“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”
“Freedom, however, is not the last word. Freedom is only part of the story and half of the truth. Freedom is but the negative aspect of the whole phenomenon whose positive aspect is responsibleness. In fact, freedom is in danger of degenerating into mere arbitrariness unless it is lived in terms of responsibleness. That is why I recommend that the Statue of Liberty on the East Coast be supplemented by a Statue of Responsibility on the West Coast.”
Blessings to you on this day! I hope to see you tomorrow at worship and at our Rally Day Barbeque at 11:45.
One beggar, telling another beggar where to find bread, I am your,
Pastor Jim
If you would like to email Pastor Jim direct please send a note to: [email protected]
Sep 6, 2024 | Pastor Jim's Blog
MAKE YOUR FINAL STATEMENT IN LIFE CONSISTENT WITH THE VALUES THAT GUIDED YOUR LIFE.
Dear TLC and Pastor Jim,
I wanted to send a quick note to let you know how deeply grateful I am for the scholarships my son has received these past two years. In many ways they have been an answer to my prayers and I can’t thank you enough. I’ve watched over the years how TLC blesses so many lives in our community and he is lucky to have been a recipient. Thank you so much for helping to make his educational dream and goals a reality.
With heart felt gratitude.
Trinity Lutheran Scholarship Committee,
Thank you so much for choosing me as a recipient of this scholarship. I have fond memories of visiting Trinity over the years, starting with going to preschool there. I remember Teacher Joan as kind and encouraging and I am grateful for the early education and the opportunity to have a higher education as well. I hope to give back to the South Whidbey community in the future.
Thank you so much.
Touch the future! The Trinity Lutheran Church Endowment
